Skating on the Vliet...

The Vliet is much wider and deeper than the canals of Leiden and it was last frozen in January 2010 when Jimmy was out of town, so he was especially excited about getting to skate there. 

This was the first time I’d ever seen swans sitting on ice.

To the right of Jimmy, there’s a darker bit in the middle of the white part. which is where an older guy who was skating towards Jimmy broke through the ice. Luckily the fellow was clearly a very experienced skater as he popped right back out, wiped himself off and continued on his way. 

These photos show the hole from two other angles. 

Despite there being lots of others on the ice, somehow I managed to catch a few that made it look like Jimmy only shared the ice with ducks. 

I particularly love this shot.